The Chances of Anything Coming From Mars...

“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could have dreamed that we were being scrutinised, as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even considered the possibility of life on other planets and yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us.”

Imagine the cultured tones of Richard Burton speaking those words and you have got a cornerstone of my youth. Jeff Wayne’s musical version of War of the Worlds is something I was introduced to at junior school and it has stayed with me ever since; initially on tape, then 12” vinyl and finally on CD and MP3.

It came up in conversation with Ping this evening, after we had been to the cinema (Kung Fu Hustle, by the way, is a slightly bizarre but fun movie. Go see it.) We were considering the next movie to see and the new Hollywood version of War of the Worlds seemed a likely contender. The question is; is it worth it?

Given the iconic status of the Wayne version and the classical nature of the original novel, can a hollywoodised version make any impression? What will it have been deemed necessary to do to the plot to make it palatable to the modern ‘bread-and-circuses’ audience? Will it be just a vehicle for Tom Cruise to show off his teeth and his brand of all-American heroism in the face of overwhelming odds?

I have Jeff Wayne playing as I write… The more I think about it, the more I think I will skip the movie and practice my Richard Burton impersonation.